1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Princeton Review names Transylvania one of America’s Best Value Colleges; selection based on excellent academics and value

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University is one of the nation’s best value undergraduate institutions, according to The Princeton Review. The New York-based education services company features Transylvania in the new 2008 edition of its book, America’s Best Value Colleges. The guide profiles 165 colleges chosen for their excellent academics, generous financial aid packages and/or relatively low costs of attendance. In its narrative profile on in the book, The Princeton Review’s editors commend Transylvania for its small classes. “This allows for more personal attention and lets students develop close relationships with their professors.” The editors also praise Transylvania’s “unparallel preparation and advising for all pre-professional programs” and tout Transy’s high medical and law school acceptance rate. Transy’s location and extensive scholarship and financial aid opportunities also fare well. The Princeton Review selected the schools for the book based on data it obtained from administrators at more than 650 colleges during the 2005-06 academic year and its surveys of students attending the schools. Robert Franek, vice president of publishing at The Princeton Review, said that the editors consider “over 30 factors to identify our ‘best value’ colleges. They covered four areas: academics, tuition GPA (the sticker price minus average amount students receive in scholarships and grants), Financial Aid (how well colleges meet students’ financial need), and Student Borrowing. The 90 public and 75 private colleges we chose for this edition offer a terrific education, plus they have impressive records of meeting students’ needs for

Transylvania is again ranked in top tier of national liberal arts schools by U.S. News & World Report and named one of the nation’s best institutions by the Princeton Review

LEXINGTON, Ky.—For the sixth consecutive year, Transylvania University is ranked in the top tier of national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & WorldReport, and the Princeton Review rates Transy among the nation’s premier colleges. U.S. News’ 2007 evaluation of America’s best colleges is based on 2005 data and, in some cases, multi-year averages. The publication ranks 215 liberal arts colleges in statistical measures such as student ACT scores, graduation rates, alumni giving and institutional resources, as well as a subjective measure of academic reputation. Transylvania made gains in its graduation and retention rate and in financial and faculty resources categories. The resources category includes such factors as the commitment to instruction, class size, faculty pay, percent of faculty with highest degree, the student/faculty ratio, percent of full-time faculty, and the average spending per student on instruction, research and student services. “The top-tier ranking by U.S. News is just one recent measurement of how well Transylvania is doing,” said President Charles L. Shearer. “The Princeton Review also features Transylvania in the 2007 edition of its annual book, The Best 361 Colleges.” Transylvania is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. “We chose schools for this book primarily for their outstanding academics,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s vice president for publishing. The schools’ evaluations are based on institutional data, feedback from current students, visits to the schools, opinions of independent college counselors and other